Going Beyond Limitations

By | Art, poetry | No Comments
The photo is from the “Art in Bloom” flower show at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. People made a flower arrangement to go with a piece of artwork they loved.
Spring is my favorite time of year. It is a time of rebirth and new beginnings. Here in Minnesota the crocuses and tulips are popping out of the ground and the leaves are reappearing on the trees. The days are longer and warmer, and the birds are returning from the south and building their nests. 
Soon we will see geese walking through the yard. The gander in front with goslings walking in a straight row behind him and the mother goose at the tail.

My birthday is in the spring so for me it is the start of a new cycle. I like to reflect on the prior year and set goals for the new year. What is my mission for the new chapter in my life?

The characters in my novels have big goals or missions such as saving their planet, fighting for freedom, or rescuing their loved ones.

My goals are gentler and quieter. My spaceship is my Toyota nicknamed Yoda. My planet is Earth and I can only travel to the stars in my imagination. And the people in my life are humans not aliens from a distant planet.

I teach a writing class and decided the theme for May would be Beyond Limitations. I’d just read “We are beings whose growth and splendor are beyond limitation.” Right after that, I sat down to have a cup of Ginger Yogi tea. The fortune on the tea bag was “The only thing that can limit you is believing that you are limited. Be limitless.”

As I further reflected on this new year cycle, I began reading a different book about the never-ending journey to mastery. On this quest, we discover our true selves and the golden dream of our life’s work. I finished reading the chapter and went to my office to get a bookmark.

I picked one up but had a nudge that it wasn’t the right one. I picked up another and as I went to put it in the book, I noticed there was a quote on it. The message was “What do you want to do with your own wild and precious life,” by Mary Oliver.

Putting all this together, I’ve come up with a goal for this year. I will be limitless as I continue my journey as a writer to get out my life’s work while living my wild and precious life in a place of growth and splendor.

I invite you during this season of rebirth to reflect on your journey in your wild and precious life and to be limitless during this next year. I’d love to hear your thoughts. What are your goals, dreams, and life’s work?

I want to end this post with an uplifting quote by Mary Oliver, a wonderful American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize.

“There were times over the years when life was not easy, but if you’re working a few hours a day and you’ve got a good book to read, and you can go outside to the beach and dig for clams, you’re okay.”
share this:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

J K Rowling, What’s next after Harry Potter

By | Writing | No Comments

In my last blog, I talked about what makes really good fiction writing. In this one, I’d like to talk about a famous fantasy author, J. K. Rowling. She did an interview with Oprah after she finished writing the last book in the Harry Potter series.

In the interview, Rowling talked about the success of the Harry Potter series being like the phenomenon of the Beatles. On her second tour of the US in New York people stood in long lines to see her at a book signing. When she walked in the door, they screamed and camera light bulbs flashed.

The series and movies made her so profitable that she became the first billionaire author.

For her next book, Rowling said she doesn’t feel like she has to do it all over again. No one expected a children’s book to leap to this kind of success. The first book in the series was rejected a dozen times before it was accepted for publication.

Rowling wanted to be a writer since she was five. The idea of the story of Harry Potter came to her when she was twenty-five riding on a bus. She had no pen to write down her ideas as they flooded in.

Every other page of the books were related to Rowling’s mother’s death. Rowling loved her mother and after she died, Rowling went into a deep depression. The dementors in the story came from her depression. The dementors had the ability to suck a person’s soul out through their mouth and drain their feelings of happiness.

Yet overall, the power of love is the thread that runs through all seven of the Harry Potter books. Love allowed Harry to live and have the help he needed to fight the dark forces.

In a Harvard speech, Rowling said it’s impossible to not have failure in your life and to use failure to gain success. Be willing to try. Rowling had nothing to lose writing Harry Potter. She was a single mother on welfare. We are all richer for Rowling’s success. She cultivated a love of reading in a whole generation of children. One fan said, “You were my childhood.”

When Oprah asked Rowling if she was going to keep writing, she said “I can’t stop writing. I need to do it.” I think that is the reason many people write or do any other creative activity. We write because that’s what we’re passionate about and love to do.


A friend of mine is a fine artist and she expressed the same sentiments. She said, “I paint because that is what I do.”

In conclusion, do what you’re passionate about to add more meaning to your life.

share this:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

Peace Like a River

By | Book Review | No Comments
What Makes a really good book?

Recently my husband brought home Peace Like a River by Leif Enger from a Little Free Library. It looked familiar and I opened it up and started reading it. I had only read a few paragraphs when I realized it was written by a really gifted writer.

Curious, I went to Amazon where I saw that it was a best-selling novel with 2,649 ratings and had reviews from major newspapers. The San Francisco Chronicle said, Peace like a River is a book that serves to remind us why we read fiction to begin with.”

That got me thinking about what makes a good book. What qualities does a really good book have that draws you into the story world and keeps you there? What makes you want to spend time with the characters? What challenges and moral decisions does the character have to face? What universal theme is the author exploring?

Peace Like a River is narrated by an eleven-year-old boy, Reuben, who is asthmatic and believes in miracles. The story is set in my home state of Minnesota and takes place in 1961. Reuben witnesses a terrible event that threatens to destroy his family.

The writer shows the love between the family members and the events that lead up to tragedy when the oldest son takes the law into his own hands. I pondered the morality of what happened as I read the book.

The father is a religious man, always reading from the Bible, and miracles surround him. It’s could be classified as religious, speculative fiction, or magical realism. Regardless of how the novel is classified, the writing is exceptional: lyrical and beautiful.

Novels like this are why we read. We don’t read just to be entertained but to go on a journey with the characters. We see something we didn’t see before, experience things from someone else’s perspective, and gather our own conclusions about right and wrong.
share this:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

Interview with Author Leon Stevens

By | Book Review | No Comments

Here is a humorous interview Leon Stevens did with himself:

In Conversation With: Leon Stevens

I’m hanging out with author Leon Stevens. I just heard you wrote a book.
[whispering] You are supposed to offer me a beverage.
Oh yeah, I forgot. Would you like a beverage?
No thanks, I’m good.
[silence] . . . Sigh, really? . . . Why don’t you tell me about your book?
Well, it’s a continuation of one of my short stories from—
The Knot at the End of the Rope. Yeah, I read it.
I know you read it—wait . . . How did you do that?
Do what?
Speak in italics.
I don’t reveal my secrets. Please, continue. Why continue a story?
Many of my stories, like a good short story, tend to end leaving the reader to think or to ponder about what may or may not happen.
Like a cliff hanger?
No, more like an open ending. Some readers commented that some stories left them wanting more, which was my intent, but the more I thought about it, the more ideas came to me.
So why continue The View from Here?
You have to teach me how to do that.
Later. Go on.
Anyway, I never felt I wrapped that story up effectively. Sure, I created a natur—
Hey, no spoilers!
I don’t think I’m giving anything away. Anyway, I changed the ending of the short story to allow it to continue.
You can do that?
Sure. I’m the writer.
Cool. So . . . not a short story then?
Nope. It’s my longest yet, 30 000+ words. So, it’s a novella.
Do people read novellas? Doesn’t that just make you a lazy novelist?
Books don’t have to be long epics to be good. Some of the greatest books are novellas.
Right. Name five.
Umm, sure. Be right back.

[silence]

Animal Farm, Of Mice and Men, Slaughterhouse Five, A Clockwork Orange, and The Call of the Wild.
Did you just Google that?
Maybe. But you have to admit, those is some fine readin’.
Yeah. You’re right. Are you happy with it?
Yeah. I think I wrote a pretty good story. And a cool cover. Want to see?
Sure!

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Herewhich is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

share this:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

When Winter Came

By | Book Review, Uncategorized | No Comments

Last week I went to my friend Beth Obermeyer’s celebration for her new book When Winter Came, A country doctor’s journey to fight the flu pandemic of 1918. The book was published by the Mayo Clinic Press. The Mayo Clinic is a world-renowned medical center in Rochester, Minnesota. Her book is the first book they’ve published that isn’t a medical book


Fifteen years ago, I was in a critique group with Beth called The Caribou Scribblers. I still have a silver pencil from the time Beth had pencils made for us with the group’s name written on the side. 
It was fun to be a part of Beth’s book launch. It was a happy occasion with neighbors, friends, and other writers. It was held at friend of Beth’s beautiful mansion in Minneapolis.

Beth’s grandfather, Dr. Pierre Sartor, was a doctor in Iowa in 1918 during the flu epidemic that hit the world near the end of World War 1. The flu killed 50 million people. Dr. Sartor treated over 1,100 patients and by his reckoning only lost five. How did he do it? He was treating farm families who didn’t have electricity or indoor plumbing. They couldn’t call the grocery store for home delivery or open their freezer to find something to eat. They didn’t have a hospital or vaccinations.

From his journal, we know he kept the patients isolated. The sick person’s family would go to a neighbor’s home. He kept the windows open, burned sheets, and had people wear masks. He also prayed by the side of his patients.

He visited the flu victims regularly by car or switched to a horse and sleigh when the road conditions were bad due to blizzards. Moreover, he organized a team of townspeople to tend to the sick. And he told well people to stay home so the disease wouldn’t spread.

The book was a major accomplishment for Beth who is now 81. She said she’s been working on the book for ten years. She kept working even after her husband died suddenly and unexpectantly. When asked what she planned to do next she answered. “Play the piano.” She accomplished what she set out to do and doesn’t have plans to write another book. Though she can’t rest yet as she’s currently in the middle of promoting the book including traveling to Iowa. There she’ll be well received by the many families who wouldn’t be here if her grandfather hadn’t saved their ancestors’ lives.

As I read the book, I thought of cycles. Beth wrote the book during the covid-19 pandemic. Diseases often come in cycles. We’ve all heard of the bubonic plague in the mid-1300s in Europe and Asia. We’ve heard of polio and smallpox sweeping across the world.

There are also cycles of wars such as World Wars 1 and 2 and now the war in Ukraine and other places in the world. Other cycles include economic cycles of recession, depressions and inflation.

Seeing things from this larger overview of cycles makes it easier to accept the hard times. We know that this too will pass. Pandemics and wars end, and prosperity returns.

When Winter Came is a success story about Dr. Pierre Sartor. He was a sickly child born in Luxembourg. He immigrated to the United States where he became a doctor who saved many lives. His story mirrors many of the immigrants who have come to the United States. The story made me reflect on my relatives and what they sacrificed and suffered to leave their homes and come to the United States.

When Winter Came is available at bookstores across the country and online. It’s full of colored photos and three original watercolors

share this:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

True Spirit

By | Book Review, Movie review | No Comments
True Sprit
The other day I watched an amazing Netflix movie called True Spirit, based on the true story of a sixteen-year-old Australian girl, Jessica Watson, who circumnavigated the world on a sailboat. When she was a young girl, Jessica heard about an eighteen-year-old man making the world record for a solo trip and decided to break his record. Her determination was impressive. She stuck with her dream for years, found a mentor to teach her sailing, and found sponsors to help pay for the trip. 

The story starts with a test voyage where she is sideswiped by a large boat. So much damage is done to her sailboat that it looked like she’d have to postpone her trip. Fortunately, other sailors come to her aid and repaired the boat.

Her parents, three siblings, and mentor become her support team and cheer her on. While on her sailboat, she recorded her adventure on a video blog telling the world about her experiences. We accompany her on this journey and see what the stars look like on a clear night at sea and a sunrise that stretch as far as the eye can see. We view flying fish, dolphins swimming alongside the boat, and a whale breaching.

One of her more difficult times is when there is no wind and her boat is becalmed at sea for days. But her worse challenge comes near the end when storms make her journey perilous and she has to decide whether to keep sailing or head for land. These were the most heart-stopping, scary parts of the movie for me.

At one point Jessica told her viewers that we all have the power to follow our dreams. “It can be really hard,” she said, “but it’s so worth it.” She also said that more people have been in space than have sailed around the world, which I found surprising.

People watched her videos from many different countries and were inspired by her courage and willingness to make sacrifices for her dream. One of the sacrifices was living alone for 210 days as she traveled 22,000 nautical miles in a thirty-three-foot sailboat.

Jessica’s the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world, traversing the most dangerous and isolated oceans. You can watch the movie on Netflix or read her book: True Spirit: The Assie Girl who Took on the World.

Following your dreams was one of the themes of my first book, Red Willow’s Quest. Red Willow is a young Native American woman who wants to become a medicine woman. She follows her heart just like Jessica does despite all the obstacles and challenges of her journey.

We all need to have dreams. Our lives are richer and more meaningful when we are working toward something we’re passionate about.
Here’s the movie trailer. 
share this:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

Have you ever wondered where authors come up with their idea?

By | Writing | No Comments

Dear Friends,

Have you ever wondered where authors come up with their ideas for stories? Ideas come from everywhere such as reading an interesting article in the newspaper that sparks the imagination, a person’s own experiences, and hearing stories. Last week, my husband and I were up at Tofte, MN on Lake Superior. My mother owns a house on the lake and it’s a good place to write while listening to the waves crashing into the rocky shoreline and enjoying the peaceful setting. A blanket of freshly fallen snow covered the ground.

One day we walked to a nearby art gallery. The artist, Ron, who owns it is a friendly man and shared a bear story. He lives north of Tofte and one day he was putting food in the bird feeder near his house when he turned around and there was a black bear right in back of him. I make note of stories like this as you never know when they might come in handy. I’ve used He had a pan in his hand so he smacked the bear with it and yelled. The bear ran off. But then it stopped and turned to look at him. They stared at each other for a moment, then the man started yelling and banging his pan against the house and the bear ran off. Since then, the man has frequently seen the bear around. I’m thinking. “Dude, get rid of the bird feeder!” You don’t want anything around that attracts bears. I learned that when we were camping this fall in Glacier National Park.

I use my own experiences and encounters with bears and other wild animals as the basis of scenes in my books. Even though I write science fiction, I use real animals on Earth for ideas in creating an alien animal. There are some pretty amazing animals on our planet.

In my most recent novel, Call of the Eagle, in one scene the main characters, Fawn and Baymond, are alone in  the wilderness and have an encounter with an animal. Here is a short excerpt from the book showing how I took some of my own experiences with bears combined with stories I’ve heard to create a scene.

The aroma of the fish cooking filled Baymond’s nostrils and his stomach rumbled. It would be the first good meal they’d had since leaving the space station. The thought of eating the fish was pleasantly rolling through his head when he heard a deep growl followed by Fawn’s scream.

Baymond’s eyes flashed open as a large snarling beast ran toward him. Before he had a chance to move, it sunk its teeth into his thigh. He cried out in pain and blindly struck out at the animal with his fists. He started to rise, but the creature swatted him, ripping his jacket and shirt to shreds, and knocking him to the ground.

Fawn grabbed a branch from the fire and began hitting the beast with the burning end. The creature rose onto its hind legs, towering above her, and snarled. Fawn grabbed a branch from the fire and hit the beast with the burning end. The creature rose onto its hind legs, towering above her, and snarled.”

The next time you read a book, you might want to ponder what experience led the reader to write that scene. Or if you’re a writer pay attention to a unusual experiences you can use in your novel.

share this:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

Is Science Fiction Just a Story Set in Space?

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

A friend recently said that science fiction is just a story set in space.
That got me to thinking.  Sci-fi should be more than just a story set in
space. Good sci-fi should ask questions and explore issues. By doing so it can
help us prepare for the future. Many ideas that were first explored in science
fiction become realities.

Some of the questions sci-fi authors and film makers have explored are: What happens if there is a world war and civilization is wiped out? (Apocalypse books) What happens if aliens attack earth? (Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card or Star ship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein) What will our first contact with other intelligent being be like? (ET)What if we use robots to do much of our work and they start acting strange? (HAL in Space Odyssey) What if we develop AIs that look and act like humans. Should AIs have the same rights as humans? Do we have the right to develop AIs as sex slaves? (Ex Machina) What if we could time travel? How would that change our present-day events if we went back and changed a past event? (The Outlander series) What if we can travel to other planets with space jumps. (Star Wars and Star Trek)

In my Star Rider series I explore many topics. Some of the questions I
explore include: How would you fight an evil ancient sorcerer that has declared
himself a god and is trying to take over the galaxy? What if there is an
interplanetary war over desirable planets with air, water, animals and plants
that can support life? Should we protect planets that have less advanced
intelligent beings from invasion? What is it like to dogfight in space knowing
you can’t eject out of the ship because you’d die in space? What would it be
like to be from a technologically advanced planet and find yourself in a
primitive planet cut off from any way to contact your starship? What kind of
plants and animals would there be? What would the landscape look like? What
would it be like to live in a dome city where you can’t go outside without a
spacesuit on? What would it be like to live on a spaceship and never be
outside? What will people in the future wear? What might other intelligent life
forms look like? What would it be like to use androids that look like us? How
would you travel faster than the speed of light? How would you contact someone
on another planet?

Next time you read a science fiction book think about the questions being explored and how this genre has enriched the world.

share this:
Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin